59ab

A

ABento

Senior Member
I have a chance to pick up a 59AB its all there fan to flywheel no trans,heads were off some time ago and there is no ridge,valves looked good I was told it may have little us eon an over haul, I'll most likely pull in down to check everything over,new seals,gaskets and put ti back together, I'm thinking of putting it in my late 31 A pickup and just leave everything stock,what kind of a price might there be for something like this, I was told to make an offer.

Thanks
 
I'd say the engine should be considered as no more valuable than as a core block plus the bolt-on accessories. First question is why would a good engine be sitting unused since "some time ago' with the heads off? You may have been told this or that, but the fact is, the engine doesn't run now, and a haphazard build is as good a guess as any other.
 
you can do a pretty decent inspection to make sure there are no obvious cracks or damage and turn it over to check that out. look at the distributor points to see if they are worn. if it is in fact a good used rebuilt motor i would pay 700-800 for it as is after inspecting it. it is worth twice that at least if it is good. you can bolt on a head and check compression too. jmo.
 
Remove the pan and check for cracks along the pan rails and main webs. (got bit twice on that one).
Fordestes
 
If you can, take some lacquer thinner, some good wire brushes and some paint scrapers and spend some time cleaning up around the valves and between the valves and the bores. Get it down to bare base iron and as clean as possible. Then use a really bright light and even a magnifying glass to visually inspect these areas for any signs of cracks.

Also, look at all the intake ports and intake valves - see any sign of water having sat in them?

I've found a lot of cracked engines in this manner.

Also, work a deal with the seller - if the engine checks out good at the machine shop (is a usable core), then "Price X", if it ends up being cracked and the block is bad, then maybe he gives you 1/2 the price back (meets you half way).

Option A: For a core engine like this - I'd probably pay a couple hundred bucks max! ($200 - 250). But, if he won't do the "1/2 back if it's bad deal" - then it is only worth half that to me - $100 to $125 . . . take it or leave it. This is because you have to do all the hard work to take it apart, have it cleaned, magged, pressure tested, etc.. All the risk is on you.

Option B: The only way it becomes a $500 engine to me is if he is willing to split the costs for hot tanking, magnafluxing and pressure testing. If AFTER that, it is good and he's split the costs with me, then he gets $500 . . . if it is bad, nothing.

Dale
 
Thanks Gents, I didn't realize that the 59 was as prone to cracks as the earlier 21's, I'll mention that to the seller.
The engine has been in the family for quite awhile and when my buddys dad passed away it went to him, just one of those things,he was going to put some alum heads on it and just leave it on a stand in the shop just because he can.
 
I agree with 19Fordy, if it was a good running engine, why were the heads off? I suspect they were looking for cracks due to water in the oil or oil in the water.
 
I agree with the $100, only because I think that most "good running"engines removed from cars were actually removed because they were not running. More so if they were inherited.

Karl
 
I also agree with the above posts. I consider all flat head engines that are not running a "Pig in a poke" and never pay more than a hundred bucks.. if it checks out good, you did alright. If it doesn't, let's hope there were a few accessories that can be salvaged.
We have people coming by the Speed shop all the time trying to sell us flatheads..we have heard all the stories and our standard answer is "we will give you a hundred bucks" some say "you are you crazy" but come bye a week later asking if offer is still good.
 
felix37 said:
I also agree with the above posts. I consider all flat head engines that are not running a "Pig in a poke" and never pay more than a hundred bucks.. if it checks out good, you did alright. If it doesn't, let's hope there were a few accessories that can be salvaged.
Click to expand...

Yep - because it takes about $500 of time - just to tear the damn thing apart, then hot-tanking, then magnafluxing . . . just to see IF it might be good.
 
Looks like I got it for 350,including a brand new gasket set from Speedway.
No hurry to start this project,l'll get the motor checked over and see what I've got and then keep on collecting parts.
 
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